Debris and snow removal apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An open mesh apparatus or net can be used for collecting and removing fallen snow, leaves, fruits, or other debris from an area of ground. The apparatus can include several panels hinged together for capturing snow or other material between the panels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to property maintenance and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for snow removal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In moist temperate climates, such as in the eastern United States north of the Carolinas, removal of snow from ground surfaces—in particular, from driveways, walkways, and other open areas—concerns property owners and property managers for at least several months in each year. For example, in the state of Connecticut the “snowy season” is commonly held to begin early in November and to continue sometimes as late as mid-May. Northward and westward from Connecticut, snowfall starts earlier and continues later in the year.

As homeowners in snowy regions well know, snow removal is physically laborious and time consuming. Shoveling a single car-width path down a hundred-foot-long driveway can require two hours or more for a moderate fall of six to eight inches. Deeper snow requires rapidly increasing effort and time, as more than one pass of shoveling may be needed and as shoveled snow must be piled further from the cleared path to avoid refilling of the path. Alternatively, property owners or facilities managers may choose to invest in labor-saving tools such as snow blowers or (for large hard-surfaced areas, such as parking lots, extremely long driveways, or private roadways) vehicle-mounted plow attachments. Various prior art snow removal tools are generally shown in FIG. 1.

Most property owners would prefer to entirely avoid the effort and expense of snow removal. However, snow cannot easily be left to lie where it has fallen because a substantial covering of snow can render a property “snowbound”, denying access or egress until the snow has been removed. Thus, by hampering access to essential services such as medical care or food shopping, unremoved snow can present a latent hazard to residential occupants of a property. Unremoved snow also imposes a business cost to commercial tenants of a property, by limiting customer access to the tenants' businesses. For some enterprises, which depend upon customer attendance at specific scheduled events, rapid snow removal can make the difference between a profitable event and a total loss of revenues.

For example, snow removal is a particularly important task in the fields of mass entertainment, education, and health care. Each of these lines of business relies upon timely physical presence of paying customers at specified venues. Particularly in mass entertainment and education, major events are scheduled during the snowy season. For example, specifically in the field of athletic entertainment, the vast majority of professional American and European football games are played on open fields during the snowy season. In higher education, the majority of classes and approximately half of all progress examinations are held during the snowy season. Large health care providers such as community hospitals serve patients year-round, but see an increase in respiratory conditions requiring treatment during the “flu season”, which for a variety of reasons closely coincides with the snowy season.

Referring again to professional sports such as American football, snow removal is a particularly important and time-critical task for an NFL team because each team plays only about eight “home” games each year. It is understood that each NFL team derives the bulk of its revenue from tickets and television advertising related to these home games. If fans, players, and television film crews cannot attend a home game in a team's stadium 2 (as shown in FIG. 2) due to unremoved snow on the field 4 or in the surrounding seating areas 6, the team's revenue for that year can be significantly impaired. Although retractable roofs 8 are provided at least over the seats of some stadiums, such roofs typically are retracted prior to a snow storm so as to avoid the very real risk of roof collapse under accumulated snow. Accordingly, NFL team owners presently engage in extensive pre-planning, and are willing to incur substantial expense, in order to promptly remove snow that may fall on a stadium field and seating prior to a scheduled home game. Although plow tractors can be used to clear the parking lots of a stadium or even the playing field, heavy machinery will not fit between rows of seats. Accordingly, shovels and brooms remain the only tools accepted for snow removal in these business-critical areas of professional athletic stadiums.

For example, in order to ensure access to their final home game of the 2009 season, despite a blizzard the Friday before the game, the Baltimore Ravens spent nearly $500,000 and employed more than 1750 laborers over a forty-one hour period to clear the seating area. Pre-planning and equipment purchases for this massive snow removal operation had begun on a speculative basis more than two months before the actual blizzard. (See “Workers clear the way for Ravens game”, The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 20, 2009).

Also in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, professional soccer (football) teams play the majority of games during the snowy season. These teams have generally the same sorts of stadiums and face the same potential problems overcome by the Ravens, and accordingly incur similar risk management costs for planning, equipment, and even insurance against catastrophic snow falls.

Snow removal also is an important concern in agriculture, particularly in orchardry. Referring to FIG. 3, in an orchard 12 containing “pomes” fruit trees 14 such as apples and pears, dormant pruning should be accomplished annually in order to obtain the fullest possible crop of fruit. Dormant pruning can only be accomplished during the coldest months of the year—in other words, at the midpoint of the snowy season. Because pruning is labor-intensive, and because its timing depends upon the temperature condition of the trees being pruned, a snow fall preventing timely and efficient access to fruit trees along the aisles 16 of the orchard can severely impact orchard productivity or can substantially raise the cost of pruning labor. As the roots of fruit trees are sensitive to soil conditions, and as soil compaction can adversely affect fruit production, use of heavy machinery for rapid snow removal is not believed to be optimal in an orchard setting. Additionally, mechanized plowing of the orchard aisles predictably would tend to result in “plowing in” the fruit trees, which laborers still must access for pruning. However, given the very large extent of commercial orchards, mechanized plowing is believed to be the only timely method known to orchardists for removing snow to provide access to fruit trees.

Of course, driveway and sidewalk snow removal remains a familiar concern for millions of homeowners residing in snowy climes. Unlike professional sports teams or orchardists, homeowners typically cannot afford to invest in heavy machinery, which would in any case be inappropriate to the scale of a typical driveway or sidewalk. Yet shoveling out an entire driveway is an arduous task that places a homeowner at risk of injury, such as a pulled back muscle or even a heart attack or stroke.

Thus, there is a long-standing need for an apparatus that will provide for timely and effective removal of snow from an area of ground with minimal expenditure of labor or fuel.

Other tasks similar to snow removal also can benefit from such an apparatus. For example, pistachio nuts are biennially harvested by mechanically agitating the pistachio tree or bush, then raking up the nuts fallen from the branches. An apparatus that provided more efficient gathering of pistachio nuts could greatly diminish pistachio orchard labor costs. Similarly, such an apparatus could improve the harvest of windfall cider apples or similar ground-harvested fruits. As another example, homeowners who must deal with snow removal also annually confront the problem of leaf removal, which is, if anything, more labor-intensive than snow removal due to the much larger ground area that must be cleared of leaves, often before rain can soak and mat them together. An apparatus that provides for effective snow removal also could be useful for leaf removal.

The present invention resolves said needs at minimal cost and in a highly energy-efficient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, an open-mesh web or net is used for low-effort collection and rapid removal of snow, leaves, or other matter from an area of ground.

According to an aspect of the invention, the open mesh of the net permits pre-placement of the net on the area of ground without adverse effects on vegetation or traffic. Additionally, the open mesh significantly reduces the contact area of the net against the ground, thereby reducing friction between the net and the ground. Unexpectedly, the open mesh does not significantly detract from the efficacy of the net for removing snow or other particles significantly smaller in size than the mesh openings. Surprisingly, the open mesh also is believed to enhance speed of snow removal over the speed achievable using a continuous web of fabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an area of ground is prepared for snow removal by laying out an open mesh apparatus or net across the area of ground. After snow falls on the prepared area of ground, the open mesh net is removed and the snow is removed from the prepared area of ground along with the net. The net can be removed manually or by machine. The net can be removed by rolling, folding, and/or lateral dragging. Lateral dragging is believed to be most efficacious toward complete removal of snow from the prepared area of ground, and also is the mechanically simplest of motions. However, for some varieties of snow, rolling, lifting, and carrying are preferred motions for removal of the net and the accumulated snow. Surprisingly, these methods are efficacious for snow removal although the snow flakes and snow grains are much smaller than the openings of the apparatus. Inward folding of lateral edges of the net is advantageous for retaining the snow with the net during dragging or rolling of the net. After removal, the net can be emptied of snow by sideways dumping, by pulling the free end of the net over the top of the roll and then pulling the free end away from the roll causing the roll to unroll and dump its contents, or by pulling the free end over an elevated horizontal pole arranged above a snow disposal area.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in light of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of cover pages from various prior-art patents in the field of snow removal.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an athletic stadium, showing prior art methods for snow removal to provide access to seating and to the athletic field.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an orchard, showing prior art methods for snow removal to provide access for pruning.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of an open mesh apparatus in use for removing snow from a driveway, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of a driveway cleared of snow by use of an open mesh apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of an open mesh apparatus being emptied over a horizontal pole arranged above a disposal area, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detail view of optional attachments to an open mesh net apparatus for snow removal, according to yet further embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a hinged open mesh apparatus, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another hinged open mesh apparatus, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an open-body hinge member for use in a hinged open mesh apparatus, such as those shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 4, in some embodiments of the present invention, an open mesh snow removal apparatus 20 is formed by a rectangular lattice or net including a first plurality of longitudinally-extending flexible members 22 and a second plurality of transversely-extending flexible members 24 defining holes 26. In preferred embodiments, the rectangular lattice extends approximately four (4) feet wide and between twelve feet (12′) to twenty-five feet (25′) long. The flexible members are about one-eighth-inch (⅛″) diameter and are spaced anywhere from one inch (1.0″) to one and three-quarter inches (1.75″) apart. Surprisingly, although larger holes let through a large fraction of small dry material such as small leaves, removal of a broad range of snow types can be accomplished even with holes as large as 1.5″ square. While various materials are suitable for the flexible members, including plastic-coated wire, thermoplastics such as nylon or polyethylene have been found to work well without embedded metal wire.

As shown in FIG. 4, the open mesh apparatus 20 can be used for removing snow 28 from a ground area (such as, by way of examples, an athletic field 4 as shown in FIG. 2, an orchard aisle 16 as shown in FIG. 3, a driveway 29, or a roof 30) by laying out the net across the ground area, waiting for snow to accumulate atop the net apparatus, and then dragging away the apparatus along with the accumulated snow. Alternatively, the snow can be removed by rolling up the apparatus longitudinally to form a snow-roll, which then can be dragged, or lifted and carried. FIG. 5 shows the surprising efficacy of removing snow from a driveway by rolling up an embodiment of the apparatus that has mesh holes that are one and a half inch (1.5″) square. For driveway snow removal, it was found that nets of the following lengths worked very well in four foot (4′) widths: fifty (50), twenty five (25), twelve and a half (12.5) feet.

Preferably, the open mesh snow removal apparatus will not be removed from the ground until a predetermined sufficient depth of snow has accumulated atop the apparatus to form a cohesive, compacted body of snow that can be effectively removed using the apparatus. The sufficient depth of snow can be determined depending upon the cohesion of the snow, which can be estimated according to the “snowball test” well known to those of ordinary skill. A preferred motion for removing the apparatus also will be selected depending on results of the “snowball test”.

For example, for powder snow that is not formable into a satisfactory ball, a depth of at least about eight inches is believed necessary in order to adequately compact the snow immediately adjacent to the open mesh snow removal apparatus. For dry powder snow, a sliding or dragging motion would be selected in preference to rolling, lifting, and carrying.

By contrast, for moderately moist “snowball” snow that forms a fluffy and coherent ball of moderate density, a depth of only about two inches is believed sufficient for removal of the apparatus and the snow. Dragging would be the selected motion for thicknesses exceeding about eight inches, while rolling and dragging would be preferred for thicknesses between four and eight inches, and rolling, lifting, and carrying might be preferred between two and four inches of depth.

For very wet or even slushy snow that forms a compact, hard, and heavy ball, depths of even less than two inches are believed sufficient for removal, and it is recommended that the open mesh apparatus should be removed before the snow accumulates beyond about six inches thickness. Dragging is the preferred motion for removal of slushy snow.

If the snow that has fallen is too heavy for a given net, snow can be removed from one end of the net with a broom or shovel before the net is rolled up in order to lighten the load. If that snow is brushed or shoveled onto a second net that has been newly laid down, then that net can be rolled up. Then the net can be dragged by the two ends to a suitable snow disposal area. Another option in lighter snow is to roll two or more nets separately, then place the rolled nets onto a flat net and drag the bundle of nets to the snow disposal area.

Once removed to a suitable disposal area, the open mesh snow removal apparatus or net 20 can be dumped by lifting along one side. Alternatively, for moderate amounts of snow, the apparatus can be inverted lengthwise by pulling the proximal end over the top of the roll and walking with it until the entire net is laid out upside down from its initial disposition. Another method for emptying the net is by pulling the proximal or outside end from under the roll over an elevated horizontal pole 31, as shown in FIG. 6. The pole can be metal, wooden, or rigid plastic, and can be solid or hollow, so long as the pole is sufficiently rigid and strong to support the net. For example, a PVC pipe greater than two inches (2″) diameter should be acceptable. Smaller PVC pipes could be nested within each other for strength.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the open mesh snow removal apparatus 20 can include two or more ropes 32 tied to one “proximal” end of the net, and handholds or buckles 34 formed in the net near the tied ends of the ropes. In use, the ropes are laid down under the net about a foot in from each edge and extend beyond the other “distal” end of the net. Alternatively, with the net already laid down and covered by snow, the ropes are tucked under the net about a foot in on each side. In either case, with the net covered by snow, the free ends of the ropes are pulled over the top of the net from the distal end toward the handholds at the proximal end. This will cause the net to roll up with the distal end at the middle of the roll and with the handholds at the outside of the roll. The ropes can then be tied to the handholds to secure the roll. The ropes and handholds can be used to drag the roll, or to lift and carry the roll for lighter loads of snow.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, a hinged open mesh removal apparatus or net 40 includes a plurality of long, narrow lattice panels 42. Each lattice panel is formed by cross-fastened longitudinal and transverse flexible lattice members 44, which define an array of openings 46 bounded by longitudinal and transverse edges of the panel. The lattice panels are pivotally connected by hinge members 48 fastened between adjoining longitudinal edges of adjacent panels. The hinged net can include, for example, a main panel 42 a about four feet (4′) wide, a first side panel 42 b about one foot (1′) wide joined to a left edge of the main panel, and a second side panel 42 c about one foot (1′) wide joined to a right edge of the main panel. The panels should be hooked closely to the main panel, or even an inch or so onto to the main panel, so that there will be no gap for the contents of the net to get through.

As another option, shown in FIG. 9, the hinged net 40 can include five panels 42 d each about one foot (1′) wide arranged side-by-side and pivotally connected by hinge members attached at adjacent edges. The hinge members should fasten each pair of panels such that the panels can be easily folded completely together. This latter option is expected to be especially suitable for removing snow through narrow spaces such as, for example, a fenced gate. Additionally, the numerous panels of this latter option make it possible to completely close the hinged net around its contents. For this purpose, outer longitudinal flexible members of the outermost side panels can carry additional hinge members 48 for closing together the side panels to capture material carried atop the hinged net. Other fasteners such as (for example) carabineers, hook-and-loop strips, wire loops, and so forth will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.

Preferably, each hinge member 48 has an elongated body 48 a with matching ends 48 b that can be pivotally clipped onto lattice members of the lattice panels, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. As another option, each hinge member can have an open body 48 c that can be flexed open to engage lattice members within a central opening 48 d and that can be clipped or latched shut to secure lattice members passing through the central opening, as shown in FIG. 10.

In use, adjacent hinged nets are laid down with the outermost side panels overlapping slightly. Although the open mesh snow removal apparatus and the hinged nets have so far been discussed primarily with reference to snow removal, the various embodiments of the present invention also can be used for removing leaves or similar windfall materials, in a manner similar to the removal of snow. For removal of light materials such as leaves, the hinged net 40 is superior to previous devices known to the inventor at least in that the hinge members enable the side panels to be easily folded over the main panel for capture and containment of the light material being removed from the ground area, thereby preventing re-distribution of the material during removal. Simply using the open mesh apparatus 20, it was found that removing substantially all the leaves from a large lawn required only an hour and a half as compared to about ten hours required using a backpack leaf blower, rake, and “drop cloth.” It is expected that using the hinged net will somewhat further reduce the time required for satisfactory removal of substantially all leaves from a lawn of similar size. The hinged net 40 also is advantageous for removal of fruit, nuts, or other materials collected atop the net. For removing any of these materials using the hinged net, the side panels are folded in toward the main panel to capture the collected material, and each net then is rolled, dragged or lifted to a disposal area, and emptied, substantially as described above with reference to the snow removal apparatus 20 shown in FIGS. 4-6.

It is expected that a hinged net with multiple lattice panels hingedly connected along adjoining edges would work well in at least the following configurations: (A) a four (4) foot wide main panel bracketed by two one (1) foot wide side panels, each panel being fifty (50), twenty five (25), or twelve-and-a-half (12.5) feet long; (B) five one (1) foot wide panels fifty (50), twenty five (25), or twelve-and-a-half (12.5) long. Other acceptable variations in size will be apparent without undue experimentation. In practice, when two four (4) foot wide panels were hingedly fastened at longitudinal edges to provide an eight (8) foot width, the following lengths worked acceptably: twelve-and-a-half (12.5) and twenty five (25) feet. The acceptable length of net was limited by the load pressing the web of the net against the ground. If the net were lightly loaded, fifty (50) foot lengths would work too.

Open mesh snow removal nets that are ten feet (10′) or more wide can be laid width ways or longitudinally on athletic fields of various shapes with the foldable panels overlapping somewhat. After snow has fallen, the foldable side panels can be folded in, and then the nets can be dragged off the field manually, or by machine. The nets can also be rolled up manually. Alternatively, ropes can be tied to the proximal end of the main nets and the rest of the ropes strung under the main nets to the distal ends. After the nets have been rolled up manually for a few feet, the ropes can be pulled by workers, or by machines, to roll the nets up the rest of the way. The rolls can then be loaded on to front end loaders or the machines that are used to move the very large rolls of hay on farms.

Open mesh snow nets also can be laid out along walkways in outdoor athletic stadiums. After snow has fallen the nets can be dragged away, or rolled up, with or without the use of ropes. The nets can also be laid up staircases of outdoor stadiums. After snow has fallen the nets can be dragged down, or rolled down the staircase manually, or by using ropes tied to them as described above.

Narrow open mesh snow removal nets can be laid out in the foot space between rows of seats and, when snow has collected on them, can be pulled out and rolled up as they are being pulled out, thereby removing most of the snow.

Open mesh snow removal nets that are ten feet (10′) or more wide can be laid out on golf course tees, greens and fairways for the removal of leaves or to extend the golf season in early or late winter by removing snowfalls.

Open mesh snow removal nets have several advantages over tarpaulins or “drop cloths.” One is that they are stronger. Another is that the open mesh grips into a snow pack, enabling the snow to be rolled up in a manner not achievable with a tarp. Rolls of snow can be placed along the foundation of a building and left there, where esthetics allow, helping shield the foundation from wind and helping insulate the building until the snow thaws. Snow also could be shoveled into the gap between the roll and the foundation and on the outside of the roll to increase the effectiveness of insulation. Another advantage is that if a net is torn it can be easily repaired with nylon or polyethylene twine, with or without a plastic coating, or with the cord used to mend fishing nets. Two lengths or widths of net can also be joined together this way. When not in use, the open mesh snow removal apparatus can be rolled up or folded up and stored in a shed or such or in the attic of a garage or out building or in a basement or crawl space. The apparatus also could be hung from wood or metal posts for use as a garden fence during the warm months, or along the posts of an existing fence. Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. 

1. A method for removing snow from an area of ground, comprising: preparing said area of ground by laying out an open mesh snow removal apparatus across said area of ground; waiting for snow to accumulate to a predetermined thickness atop said open mesh snow removal apparatus; and removing said open mesh snow removal apparatus from said prepared area of ground by a selected motion, thereby removing said snow.
 2. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said selected motion is dragging said open mesh snow removal apparatus across the ground.
 3. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said selected motion is rolling, lifting, and carrying said open mesh snow removal apparatus.
 4. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said predetermined thickness of snow is at least two inches but not more than six inches based upon said snow being packable into a hard, icy ball.
 5. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said predetermined thickness of snow is at least four inches based upon said snow being packable into a soft snowball.
 6. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said predetermined thickness of snow is at least eight inches and not more than twelve inches.
 7. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said selected motion is dragging based upon said snow being packable into a ball.
 8. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said selected motion is rolling, lifting, and carrying based upon said snow not being packable into a ball.
 9. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said open mesh snow removal apparatus has openings of greater than one inch across.
 10. A debris collection and removal apparatus comprising: a main panel formed by pluralities of longitudinal and transverse flexible members joined together to define an mesh with openings between said flexible members; a first side panel formed similarly to said main panel; and a plurality of hinge members, each hinge member being pivotally attached at a first end thereof to an edge of said side panel and at a second end thereof to an adjacent edge of said main panel, whereby said main panel and said side panel are hingedly connected.
 11. The apparatus as recited by claim 10, further comprising: one or more second side panels formed similarly to said main panel and said first side panel; and additional pluralities of hinge members hingedly connecting each of said second panels by an edge thereof to an edge of one of said main panel, said first side panel, or another of said second side panels.
 12. The apparatus as recited by claim 11, wherein said main panel is hingedly connected between said first side panel and one of said one or more second side panels.
 13. The apparatus as recited by claim 11, wherein one of said one or more second side panels is hingedly connected to an edge of said main panel and to an adjacent edge of said first side panel.
 14. A method for removing material from an area of ground, comprising: preparing said area of ground by laying out an open mesh apparatus across said area of ground, said open mesh apparatus including a main lattice panel hingedly connected to at least one side lattice panel; waiting for said material to accumulate to a predetermined thickness atop said open mesh apparatus; capturing said material onto said open mesh apparatus by folding the at least one side panel over the main panel of said open mesh apparatus; and removing said open mesh apparatus from said prepared area of ground by a selected motion, thereby removing said material.
 15. The method as recited by claim 14, wherein said selected motion is dragging said open mesh apparatus across the ground.
 16. The method as recited by claim 14, wherein said selected motion is rolling, lifting, and carrying said open mesh apparatus.
 17. The method as recited by claim 14, further comprising: pre-selecting a disposal area; and emptying said open mesh apparatus at said pre-selected disposal area.
 18. The method as recited by claim 17, further comprising: establishing a net-emptying apparatus at said disposal area, wherein said net-emptying apparatus includes a horizontal pole elevated above said disposal area, and emptying said open mesh apparatus includes dragging said open mesh apparatus over said net-emptying apparatus.
 19. The method as recited by claim 1, further comprising: pre-selecting a disposal area; establishing a net-emptying apparatus at said disposal area, wherein said net-emptying apparatus includes a horizontal pole elevated above said disposal area; and emptying said open mesh snow removal apparatus at said pre-selected disposal area by dragging said open mesh snow removal apparatus over said net-emptying apparatus.
 20. The method as recited by claim 1, wherein said open mesh snow removal apparatus includes a main panel hingedly connected to a side panel, and said selected motion includes folding the side panel over the main panel, thereby capturing said snow atop said open mesh snow removal apparatus. 